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Today is the summer solstice, when the northern hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. This creates the longest day of the year with almost 16 hours of daylight. That is 7 hours 19 minutes longer than the winter solstice! The solstice is also the first day of astronomical summer, which aligns well with the season at Mount Rainier. With subalpine areas still mostly snow-covered, the summer season is just getting started! What are you looking forward to this summer at Mount Rainier National Park?

NPS Photo of Mount Rainier from Longmire.

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The lovely twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is a common wildflower carpeting sections of the forest floor at Mount Rainier. Twinflower spreads on long running stems with evergreen leaves and numerous pairs of pink to white flowers that faintly smell of almond. It is found throughout the low elevations of the park. What wildflowers are you finding in the park?

Please note that subalpine areas are still mostly snow-covered. Please stay on trails or on snow to avoid trampling young wildflowers just starting to grow as the snow melts from the meadows!

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of twinflower blooming near Longmire, 6/17/25.

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NPS Photo of pavement preservation work in Longmire, 5/29/25.

This Thursday, June 19, is a fee free day in recognition of the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday. All entrance fees are waived for Mount Rainier National Park and all NPS sites.

When planning your visit, please note that construction work in several areas of the park will still be ongoing on Thursday, with delays of up to 30 minutes possible:

Rehabilitation work along SR123 in the southeast corner of the park. Expect sections of gravel road and closed pullouts.

Pavement preservation work, including striping between Nisqually Entrance and Longmire and patching on Stevens Canyon Road in the southwest and south sides of the park.

Ohanapecosh Campground area, including the visitor center, picnic area, day use parking, and Silver Falls Trailhead, remains CLOSED for construction. Silver Falls can be reached via the Eastside Trail starting from the Grove of the Patriarchs Trailhead.

Check the Park Construction page for detailed information: https://go.nps.gov/MountRainierConstruction

Other information to know when visiting Mount Rainier:

Please note that Sunrise Road is still closed for the season, estimated to open July 4. Check Road Status: https://go.nps.gov/MORAroads

There is no access to Carbon River and Mowich Lake via SR165 due to the closure of the Fairfax Bridge outside of the park.

Visitor centers and wilderness information centers are open daily in Longmire, Paradise, and White River. Operating Hours: https://go.nps.gov/MORAhours

Weather: https://go.nps.gov/MORAweather

Subalpine areas like Paradise are still mostly snow-covered. Plan ahead and be prepared for a safe trip: https://go.nps.gov/SpringHikingSafety

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The park’s meadows are famous for displays of subalpine lupine (L. arcticus ssp. subalpinus), but the very similar broadleaf lupine (Lupinus latifolius) is also common at low elevations up to about 5,000 feet elevation. A scattering of broadleaf lupine is blooming in Longmire, like this plant next to the Longmire Administration Building, and along roadsides. Subalpine areas are still mostly snow-covered but melting out quickly (stay-tuned for subalpine lupine later this summer!) What wildflowers are you finding in the park?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of broadleaf lupine blooming next to the historic Longmire Administration Building, 6/10/25.

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Snow is melting away from roadsides quickly and many early season wildflowers are starting to bloom at lower elevations! You can see the difference elevation makes along Stevens Canyon Road. The higher elevation side of the road near Reflection Lakes is still snow-covered. As you descend in elevation along the road, you will start to see very early season wildflowers like avalanche lilies. As you reach areas that have been snow-free longer, look for colorful blooming paintbrush and penstemon! Stop at pullouts along the road for a closer look at cliff-loving plants like spreading stonecrop (Sedum divergens). Stonecrop has plump, reddish-green leaves and bright yellow flowers. What wildflowers are you finding in the park?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of spreading stonecrop blooming along Stevens Canyon Road, 6/5/25.

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This plant’s bright scarlet blooms decorate cliffs along the road to Paradise. Aptly named cliff paintbrush (Castilleja rupicola) grow at higher elevations in the park. While the cliff-side locations are a good clue for identifying this species, it’s also smaller than other red paintbrush, with stems less than 8 inches (20 cm) tall.

You may see the red flowers of this plant while driving, but it often grows in steep locations without pullouts or good places to stop. Please take care while driving and do not stop in the roadway. Drive slow and safely enjoy the views on your trip to Paradise! What wildflowers are you finding in the park?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of cliff paintbrush blooming along the road to Paradise, 5/28/25.

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There are many yellow violets blooming in low elevation forests in the park, but less common are purple violets like this Alaska violet (Viola langsdorfii). Look for them in wet areas and on streambanks, such as along the Trail of the Shadows in Longmire. Alaska violets have heart-shaped leaves with a single pale purple flower. The lower petals have darker purple veins. What spring wildflowers are you finding in the park?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of an Alaska violet blooming in the Longmire area, 5/16/25.

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In the aftermath of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, ash fell across a wide part of the country, including at Mount Rainier. This ash formed a layer of sediment called tephra. Tephra is more than just a mess to clean up – it actually becomes an important part of the geologic history of a landscape! Mount Rainier National Park has been covered in at least 22 tephras from past eruptions of Mount St Helens, Mount Mazama (Crater Lake), and Mount Rainier itself.

Each layer of tephra can be tied to a specific time period. This is a valuable tool in archaeology, since tephra layers can help date objects found in between the layers. Tephra layers have helped archaeologists determine that artifacts, including chip shards and hearth features, found in the Ohanapecosh area of the park date to over 7,000 years ago. Volcanic eruptions can be destructive, but they can also be used to reveal a long history of human use on the slopes of those same volcanoes.

NPS Photos of ash from the 1980s Mount St. Helen eruption on Mount Rainier. NPS/E. Brouwer Photo: An archaeologist removes layers of sediment and tephra from a site at Ohanapecosh.

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A highlight every spring is when the fairy slippers bloom! Also called Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa), these tiny plants barely reach the height of 6 inches but are some of the most brightly colored wildflowers found in the park. They grow in low elevation forests, often around water sources. Fairy slippers are delicate and easily damaged, so please take care to avoid trampling them. Have you found these wildflowers during a visit to the park?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

NPS Photo of fairy slippers blooming in the Longmire area, 5/7/25.

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National Park Week

Mount Rainier may be a 500,000-year-old volcano but if you want to talk about “classic rock” then check out granodiorite! Around 18-14 million years ago, long before “new age” Mount Rainier formed, a large mass of molten rock slowly cooled under the surface, forming granodiorite, a rock similar to granite. This granodiorite underlies the Tatoosh Range, White River, Carbon River, and Nisqually River Valleys. Outcrops of granodiorite can be viewed up-close along White River Road near the White River Campground. Tatoosh granodiorite rocks, rounded by water erosion, are common in the Nisqually River. You may even spot some granodiorite boulders used in the construction of historic structures like the Longmire Administration Building!

Learn more about the geology of Mount Rainier at https://go.nps.gov/MountRainierGeology

NPS Photos: Granodiorite outcrop along White River Road; close-up of granodiorite; a light-colored granodiorite boulder in the Nisqually River; and granodiorite boulders around the front door to the Longmire Administration Building.

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National Park Week

The original soundtracks of the world are the “nature songs” all around us! Also known as soundscapes, they are the audio equivalent of a landscape. Natural soundscapes can include everything from animal and bird sounds to rushing water, wind through vegetation, glacial crevassing, to thermal or volcanic activity. Birds, animals, and insects use sound to communicate, establish territory, find prey, avoid predators, connect with mates, and care for young.

What does Mount Rainier sound like? Listen to short soundscape recordings from around the park at https://go.nps.gov/MountRainierSoundscapes Sounds occur in different frequencies and are represented visually using a spectrogram, an image that incorporates frequency (y axis), time (x axis), and amplitude (brightness of color). This spectrogram represents audio recorded near Kautz Creek in 2017 of male and female Barred owls. NPS Video.

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Mount Rainier is surrounded by a series of lava ridges that radiate out from the summit. Rampart Ridge is a particular ridge in the Longmire area. The term “rampart” comes from defensive fortifications and is often used in geography to describe a ridge or landform resembling a wall. In this case the “wall” of Rampart Ridge was created when lava flows built up against the sides of an ancient glacier that once filled the valley. The glacier is gone but the lava cliffs remain.

Rampart Ridge can be viewed from the Longmire meadow along the Trail of the Shadows. The Rampart Ridge Trail climbs to a viewpoint at the top of this ridge that looks back down on the Longmire area.

NPS Photo of Rampart Ridge.

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Today is World Art Day! National parks have inspired many artists. Art can capture a moment in time and a sense of place. This painting by Juanita Albright shows the Ohanapecosh Patrol Cabin. This cabin no longer exists, but one way it is remembered is through this artwork (all of the cabins at Ohanapecosh were removed by the early 1960s). Have you had a similar experience in the park of a place you would like to remember? How would you portray it? Share your own artwork of Mount Rainier National Park!

Mount Rainier National Park Museum Collection donated by Juanita Albright. Title: Ohanapecosh Patrol Cabin.

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Mountains can have different shapes depending on how they were formed. Pyramidal peaks are created when multiple glaciers meet and erode the mountain from three sides. The best example of a pyramidal peak around Mount Rainier is the aptly named Pyramid Peak. It can be easily viewed from along the Paradise Road looking west. Have you noticed this peak when visiting the park?

NPS Photo

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Mountain Moment: Steller's Jay

Steller’s Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) are common visitors to the Longmire area as they look for food. These inquisitive birds forage for insects, seeds, nuts, eggs, small animals, and more, but will also happily eat unattended human food and garbage if given the opportunity. Remember to secure all food and do not feed any wildlife! As you can see in this video, Steller’s Jays find plenty to eat in the natural environment of Mount Rainier. Have you seen these birds in the park?

NPS Video, filmed 3/6/25. Description: A Steller’s Jay searches for food on dry, grassy ground. The medium-sized bird with a black, crested head and bright blue wings and tail hops across the ground. Its head tilts back and forth as it frequently snatches up seeds and insects to eat.

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In geologic terms, “chimneys” are columns of rock that rise above their surroundings. Mount Rainier dominates the sky in the park, but the Cowlitz Chimneys stand out as prominent peaks in the Cascade Range. The highest Cowlitz Chimney reaches 7,605 feet (2318 m). These formations are remnants of andesite and rhyolite volcanic rock from an earlier period of volcanic activity that were later carved by glaciers into the peaks we see today. Have you observed the Cowlitz Chimneys when visiting the east side of Mount Rainier National Park?

NPS/S. Redman Photo

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Along the Wonderland Trail on the north side of the park, Old Desolate rises above Mystic Lake. Covered in loose scree with outcrops of columnar lava, this mountain is a remnant of one of the oldest volcanic periods that built Mount Rainier. Starting 500,000 years ago, pyroclastic flows built up many layers of volcanic rock and ash. The pyroclastic deposits were then capped by thick lava flows that preserved this early era of the mountain. Old Desolate is one example, along with Burroughs Mountain and Grand Park near Sunrise. Have you hiked or climbed these volcanic features on the north side of Mount Rainier?

NPS/C. Meleedy Photo of Old Desolate reflecting in Mystic Lake.